Design Team

It has been so long since all 4 of us have been together---way too long. And not exactly the best picture-evil eyes, we get that from Julia.  Design Team Reunited

Design Team Reunited

Gum Surgery

If you know me, then you know that I hate the dentist! It’s been a while since I have had insurance, so as soon as I was covered I booked an appt to get my teeth cleaned. I was sure I had at least 6 cavities. I knew exactly where it hurt and which teeth needed fixed. When the first thing the doctor told me was, “You don’t have any cavities” I naturally didn’t believe him. Then he told me about how my nerves were exposed and the reason that I was having so much pain when brushing my teeth was because I was brushing the nerve. This is what he told me is called receding gums. Apparently it hereditary and braces don’t help the effects. He then gave me a referral to see a periodontist.

I really hate missing work, so I wanted to do everything in one day. Turns out they must have been slow one week, so they were able to do it in July. The only problem was that it was during the same week my parents were out of town. Thankfully I have great friends, one in particular that did a great job caring for a big baby! Thanks Cinwin. She woke up early to take me. Watched me cry through the whole consultation. Activated my health savings card. Picked up my medications. Bought me yogurt, peas and chapstick. Watched 10 episodes of Friday Night Lights with me. And finally drove me home that night.

Obviously I don’t do well at the dentist, and I absolutely hated the dentist office that was painted completely purple. I cried almost the entire time he was talking to me and at one point I thought he said he was going to use pig skin for my gums. I had to get an IV which I have never had before, I think it was a baby one though and I actually didn’t do as bad as I thought I was going to on that part. But then when the assistant said are you ok, I started crying again. The doctor tried to get my mind off of things, asked me where I worked, which I could say. Then he asked me where I went to school and I could say it. But when he asked what I studied I was crying to hard by then to get it the word Linguistics out. They said I would sleep, but that was a lie, I was awake the whole time.

The medicine that I had to take made me sick for a week and a half. Everyone would ask how my mouth was and it didn’t really hurt surprisingly but I felt like throwing up all day long. I didn’t want to eat because I felt so sick but of course to take the medicine I had to eat- It was a vicious cycle!

Now that I am semi in recovery, I don’t even think anything is different. Thankfully they took pictures so hopefully I will be able to see the difference, cause right now I think it looks like he cut me up for no reason at all! Plus I still haven’t seen my bill and I can’t wait to see how much this torture is going to cost me!

Since I work all the time I hardly get to go to lunch with my friends like I use to do when I was unemployed. Therefore, anytime I have a dentist appt. we try to go to lunch. Even after gum surgery we ended up at Ah-So for Carter, my god brother’s birthday. I use to hate Ah-So and now I love it and it was so good. The downside was coming back to Cindy’s house and feeling like throwing up the whole afternoon, like I almost did 3 times. I had to close my eyes so much!

My favorite part of the day was right before we went to lunch. I wanted more medicine and Cindy said I couldn’t have any so I started crying. She said, “Does your mouth hurt” and I said “no.” Then she said “Are you just emotional” and I cried “yes”. I just thought it was so classic Bree craziness.

What scares me the most is the fact that I feel like I’m going to have to get this done again!

Girls Camp

Girl’s camp was way different this year! Not only was it only 3 days instead of 5 and not on a Sunday, but more than half my normal posse was missing. I thought I would just totally hate it only being 3 days, but I think I kinda loved it! For some reason, I’m guessing mostly cause my friends were gone, but I slept more at camp than I ever have in my life. Besides my friends not being there, it seemed like we never got a break, I didn’t get to check out sports or crafts or learn the dance at all and I taught the same girls for 2 hours straight which I felt bad for them having to sit there and listen to me for so long. But like every year, I had great girls and that always makes it fun. Plus we got to dance a lot and I loved that part. A huge huge snipe/gorilla made camp seem worth it. I knew what was going on in the woods and that it was just Jason in the suit, but I still was a little scared! Jason did an amazing job, acting like a big huge monster! I only wish we could have spray painted his shoes black….next year for sure! Mostly camp consisted of talking about spray tanning and all the different reality shows we watch and of course scarring Cindy which is always a highlight.

Mason Jars

Up next on my project list was a mason jar chandelier. I of course saw it on pinterest and really the only place I could do anything with a light like that would be above my kitchen table. I would say it only took a Saturday but because of the changes I made, it ended up being a week long project. I originally had built it for only 8 jars, but once I started looking at it, I decided to do 12. The pottery barn one has 16 but my table is def not that big.

The hardest part was finding the electrical wire that holds the lights. I wanted wire that had like a cloth over it, but it costs almost 6-8 dollars a foot. So I went to ikea and they had these light fixtures that were only about 3 bucks and came with 15 feet of wire. I spray painted them a walnut brown, but the paint like never dried. It literally was the most frustrating part of the project! I also used the same stain that I used on my table for the 2 by 4s.

Other than finding the right wire, the second hardest thing to do was figuring out how to mount it to my ceiling. It’s not like home depot sells a kit for hanging your homemade chandelier, so after thinking and thinking, I finally came up with an idea. It’s been hanging for about almost a month, so far it has worked and I hope that it continues to, cause it ever falls, it will be a horrible mess for sure!

I daisy chained all the wires together, remembered to cut the power in the kitchen, hooked them up and they actually worked!!! I was so thankful too, cause without some nice wire cutters it took more than a while to strip, twist, and tape over 24 connections! Once it was up, I had the lights in and they were super super bright…apparently 60 watts is too much- so I had to get 40 watts and it’s a whole lot better!

Out of all the projects I’ve done over the last little while, this is def my favorite. I catch myself walking by and thinking, that looks kinda cool. Plus I’ve kinda been using it as a backlight. One of my favorite things about having my Christmas tree up for a whole year was putting the lights on at night, so now I like turning these lights on, for just a little light. The pottery barn light costs 400 dollars and I ended up spending just under 100 bucks. The most expensive part is the keyless light socket, which are about 3 dollars apiece! If anyone wants one, I can build another no problem, just for the price of the parts and a pair of wire cutters.

Hailey's Wedding

I got to spend some time up in Idaho this year.  It wasn’t till I was sitting in the shop and Tammy said, when was the last time you got your hair done, that we realized it had been basically 2 years since I had been up there.

Just as soon as I landed and got into town I was taken horseback riding with Papsy (Kyle-Hailey’s dad) and Jeff. We went up just a little ways from the house and got to enjoy some beautiful weather.  The craziest part about the whole thing was how late the sun stayed out.  We were out riding and it was basically 9:30pm at night, but it seemed like 6pm!  We came off some pretty steep hills and it was a lot of fun.  Granted, I really wish I would have worn cowboy boots- I love my toms but they just are not the best when it comes to taking a horse down off a mountain.  Let’s just say the pedicure I got the next day was close to torture cause of all the bruises I got from the ride on my shins.  I also loved how slow Papsy and Jeff talked, it was kind of funny because I never knew if they were done with a story or not, cause they would pause for like 2 minutes in between finishing another sentence!

Jeff and Papsy

 If you look closely you can see a little white speck, its a cross.  I asked Papsy if he knew what happened and then he told me how this guy pushed his wife over the edge for insurance money.

 The next day all the girls headed to the nail salon and we got our nails done.  I hadn’t had a pedicure in more than 2 years-cause the last time I got one was before Ashley’s wedding even!  After our nails were done, we just worked on wedding stuff.  We picked up doors in Emitt, got last minute stuff at the dollar store, I had to get Hailey’s bachelorette party gift. 

 I begged my man to take me on a romantic sunset scooter ride. It was freezing!

The last time I was up in Idaho, Jamie wanted to get a spray tanning machine.  Well in the course of 2 years she got one and now spray tans people all the time!   Of course I wanted to try it out to see if I wanted to buy one but I was a little scared.  I was worried that it would be super orange, be all greasy and gross and smell…but guess what- it was amazing. All the girls got spray tanned in the garage and were standing half naked in the kitchen eating and kept having to yell at the boys to stay out!

Starting the game that changed our life

 I really thought the bachelorette party was going to be pretty normal, but it turned out crazy as usual, and now that I think about it maybe the craziest…def one of the most eventful parts of the trip.  We opened gifts and I had a few games to play. I really thought they would be no big deal, but they turned into stories I will never forget in my whole life.  One involved drawing a face on a paper bag, putting it over your head and then during each round you take something off your body.  It could be jewelry, shoes, things out of your pockets etc.  Really, the first thing you can take off is the bag on your head-but if you’re like me you think the bag has to stay on and start taking your clothes off.   I def went the farthest when I was playing at a different party, by almost taking my pants off, but no one I think can ever beat Hailey’s missionary companion.  After the game was over, we ended up having a few guys come and dance-grossley…one being her brother Jake who had some sick moves.  One of the best parts was how dark Hailey looked and how we kept telling her she was going to look like an Indian bride for her wedding. 

 Friday was the big day.  The morning involved getting ready and then we all met at Costa Vida for lunch before we drove out to Twin Falls for the wedding.  Theres nothing better then getting to eat great food with friends-we def should have taken a pictures cause it’s the sorta thing I miss with all my roomies that we don’t get to do very often since we all live so far away.  

They did it!

  I drove with Matt and Jamie on the way to the temple.  Once we got there me and Shelby had a few of the little kids outside.  We took them on a walk and actually it didn’t seem like a horribly long time.  It was a little hot, but not super hot  and way better than when it was like below freezing for Ashley’s wedding.  We took some pictures and then we were off to the little place where we had the dinner.  Dinner was really good and it was good to sit with all my friends and just talk.

 How do we do it? Sick poses everytime

 I actually ended up driving home with them since I felt like I hadn’t spent very much time with them.  By the time we got home it was pretty late, but not too late to watch the Bachelorette together.  Ashley and I had already seen it but again, so much more fun when watching it with friends.  By the time we finished watching the show and chatting it was close to 2am!  I was kind of freezing and they were making fun of me and said it was probably warmer outside.  Well we go to take Jessica home and the top was down in the jeep and let’s just say we were all FREEZING to death! Besides the freezing it was so fun.  I stayed over at Gooch’s for the night and didn’t go to bed till after 4am! 

 We are awesome at these pictures

 Just a little out of focus

Papsy mowing the yard-for the 7th time

Jamie hanging up the burlap curtains

Thankfully we got to sleep in a little bit.  Then we headed over to Haileys to help set up for the wedding. 

The C's raspberry bushes, which have made paying for raspberrys in AZ so annoying!

I got my friends to walk over to a garage sale, we didn’t get anything, but it was fun to sneak out of working. When we got back we had to run to the store for something else, and of course a diet coke for Jamie.

 It was the best to see Uncle Val and Aunt Lisa…they are my favorite of Hailey’s family!  Uncle Val did all of the center pieces for the tables, can you believe it?!? It was fun to sit and talk with them in the shop while they were doing flowers.  Turns out Aunt Lisa went to high school with like all the people in the Relief Society General Presidency.  If only should could have gone to school with Sister Parkin! 

7pm came quick and people started coming to the reception that was in Hailey’s backyard and Papsy’s new barn.  It could have been a tad bit cooler since we were dancing out of control, but other than that it was a great night, I just wish we could have danced longer. 

The C's Tammy and Kyle

Same Goof Face

My new Kardashian sister

My candy boyfriend

The reason I love this new husband: he is super fun!

Cutting the cake

My Favs- Uncle Val and Aunt Lisa

I NEVER get the bouqet

After the wedding we ended up at Winco and then headed over to Ashley’s.  We talked for a little bit and then it was time for them to take me home.  This time we drove with Parka’s so we would be warm.  Turns out when you’re on eagle road in the middle of the night, you get these ideas to do crazy things…and because its so late at night you end up doing them!!!J  It was so freakin awesome, def our happiest moment of the day!  I loved driving that jeep and literally have thought about buying one for real. 

Sunday is when we all left L  Everyone from Utah went to church early so they could start their drive back.  Thankfully Hailey lives next to the church so they just walked over to say goodbye.  Shelby Jake Brig and I all went to the late singles ward.  And it’s nice to know that singles wards are just the same as anywhere else, there are weirdos everywhere.  Before Jake left Papsy went down the road to the nursey home and asked if they would like some centerpieces, which meant we loaded all the mason jar flowers into the truck and went to deliver them.  Then Jake left and finally Papsy and Tammy drove me to the airport. 

The trip was awesome and what sucked more than anything was calling Jamie a day or two after I got back home to ask her about the tanning machine and realizing she wasn’t just right down the street, but hundreds of miles away.  It would be so awesome for us to live closer together, but it does make the time that we do get to spend together that much more special-plus I love calling Eagle my second home.  We all agreed though that our roommate reunions are a lot better when there isent a wedding involved and not in eagle.  Thus we have been thinking of a cruise soon!!!

BFFS